Hero
by BubblyShell22
Summary: Leonardo strives to be a true hero like his idol Captain Ryan, but when he fails to save people from a burning building, Leo begins to doubt that he'll ever be a true hero again. Then a revelation from one of his brothers teaches Leo a valuable lesson that you can't always save everyone. Based on the Nick cartoon series.


Hero

A/N: Yet another plot bunny based on the 2012 Nickelodeon series. I swear, these things are coming out fast. After watching the premiere I gave a lot of thought to how Leonardo really looks up to Captain Ryan and how he wants to be like him, and this bunny was born. I really hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: TMNT and all related characters are property of Nickelodeon. I only own the plot to this story.

Summary: Leonardo strives to be a true hero like his idol Captain Ryan, but when he fails to save people from a burning building, Leo begins to doubt that he'll ever be a true hero again. Then a revelation from one of his brothers teaches Leo a valuable lesson that you can't always save everyone. Based on the Nick cartoon series.

Leonardo was watching another episode of "Space Heroes" on television. Despite his family sometimes mocking him for it, Leo ignored their cutting remarks. He loved the show and really wanted to be just like Captain Ryan one day. It amazed him how brave Captain Ryan was in the face of overwhelming odds. On this particular episode, Captain Ryan was saving people from a burning spaceship. He had a brave look on his face as he kept rescuing everyone from certain death.

"Wow," Leo breathed when the episode had ended. "That was amazing. Did you see the way Captain Ryan rescued all those people, Raph?"

Raphael was once again reading a comic book and wasn't paying attention to what Leo was watching. "No, I was too busy reading," he said. "You know I hate that show."

"Well, you should have been paying attention," Leo scolded. "It was amazing how Captain Ryan just went in there and saved everyone like that. He was so brave. I really hope that one day I can be just as brave as he was."

Raph sighed. "Leo, you do know that this show isn't real, right?" he asked his brother. "It's a cartoon, and Captain Ryan isn't even a real guy."

Leo glared at his brother. "Of course I know it's not real!" he snapped.

"You know, Raph has a point," Donatello chimed in as he came out of his lab. "You take this at face value when it's just a fictional show. The odds of Captain Ryan being able to rescue all those people are slim. One person can't rescue all those people that quickly."

"Maybe not, but if the time comes where I have to rescue anyone like that, I'm going to be right there," Leo declared.

"Suit yourself," Raph remarked. "I doubt anyone would need rescuing by you anyway."

Leo gave up and went to the dojo to work on some katas. His family just didn't understand how important it was for him to be a hero. He wanted to do good and help people out. Didn't Master Splinter lecture them about protecting the innocent? He paused in the middle of a kata as he thought about that. Then he had an idea. He'd go to the surface and see if he could truly be a hero. Then maybe his brothers wouldn't laugh at him so much.

"Hey, Leo, you wanna spar?" Michelangelo asked as he came into the dojo.

"Not now, Mikey," Leo replied. "I'm going out on a training run."

"You know, Donnie and Raph told me about your wish to be a hero like Captain Ryan," Mikey told him.

Leo's eyes narrowed as he braced for the insults that were sure to be hurled at him by his orange-clad brother. "And let me guess, you think I'm an idiot for thinking I can be like Captain Ryan," he said.

Mikey shook his head. "No, I think it's cool," he said. "It's good to have a goal and to go for it. I really think you could do it, Leo."

"Thanks, Mikey," Leo replied. "That means a lot to me coming from you. You want to come with me?"

"Nah, there's a monster movie marathon that's gonna start soon," answered Mikey.

Leo smiled. 'Okay, but don't come running to me when you have nightmares," he teased. "You know how you get."

"I'll be fine, Leo," Mikey reassured him. "You worry too much."

"Hey, as the leader it's my job to worry about you guys," Leo explained. "See you later, Mikey." He went to his father's chambers to let him know what he was going to do. Leo wasn't one for lying and deceiving his father, and he had a feeling none of his brothers would be able to cover for him if he did sneak out.

"Enter," said Splinter.

Leo stepped into his father's room and bowed to him in respect. Splinter bowed back and scrutinized his oldest son.

"Is something troubling you, my son?" inquired Splinter.

"No, Sensei, I just wanted to let you know that I wish to go on a training run by myself," Leo answered.

"Are you sure you don't want one of your brothers accompanying you?"

"I'd rather do this on my own, if that's okay with you, Master Splinter," Leo responded.

"That is fine, Leonardo," Splinter relented. "I just hope that you will be careful while you are on your training run. The city is not always a safe place as you know."

"I'll be careful, Master," Leo told him. "I won't be too late."

"Good. Be safe, Leonardo."

Leo nodded and bowed to his father. After Splinter returned the bow, the blue-clad Turtle left to go to the surface. His brothers were engrossed in a show and didn't even say anything as he left the Lair.

"Who needs them anyway?" he muttered. "They'd probably just laugh at me if they found out what I was really doing."

22222

The streets were quiet as Leo made his way to the surface. He hurried to the rooftops so he wouldn't be exposed to any passerby on the street. The night was clear and a little chilly, but that didn't bother Leo one bit. He raced across the rooftops, pausing to do a kata and strike a heroic pose like Captain Ryan would do. He really hoped that something would happen tonight to prove that he could be a great hero. Just as he was leaping another rooftop, Leo smelled smoke. It was probably some homeless people burning a fire in a barrel, but Leo was curious enough to investigate. He followed the smell and soon came upon an apartment that was burning.

Perfect. This was his chance to prove that he was a hero. He imagined how his family would react once they found out what he'd done. They'd praise him for his bravery and would never mock him again. With that last thought in his head, he made his way to the burning building. As he studied the layout, he thought about how he would be able to rescue all of the people inside. He decided to work from the ground floor up. It probably wouldn't take him that long to do it. He listened for the fire trucks, but no one was coming. That was fine with him as it would give him plenty of time to do the job himself.

As it turned out, most of the people on the bottom floor were evacuating the building, but there were still people on the upper floors who couldn't leave the building. Leo jumped on a fire escape and hurried to the first window. The smoke was choking him, and the heat from the flames was unbearable, but Leo ignored that. He had to be a hero. A little girl was at the window, crying uncontrollably.

"I want my mommy!" she sobbed.

"Calm down, little one," Leo soothed. "I'm getting you out of here." He gently scooped her up and carried her to safety. He searched for her mother, but he couldn't find anyone who was looking for her. "Do you know where your mommy is?" he asked her.

"She's up there," the girl replied as she pointed to an upper floor. "She cleans people's houses. Please save her, Mr. Turtle."

"I'll do my best," Leo promised. He set her down and raced toward the building. He needed to save the child's mother, but he had other people to rescue as well. He saved some other people, including a few children. Many of the people were bewildered by his appearance, but he had no time to explain. Just as he was about to make his way to the upper floor where the child's mother was, the flames became more intense, and he wasn't able to climb up to rescue her. The little girl was coming towards the building, screaming for her mother. Leo saw some bricks starting to fall from the building toward the girl and leapt to protect her. He shielded her from the debris as it fell. He felt some of it hit him, but he didn't care.

"Mr. Turtle, why won't you save my mommy?" the girl pleaded.

Leo coughed. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I couldn't save her." Tears poured down his face both from the smoke and the realization that he'd failed in his mission. He hadn't been able to save all of the people from the burning building. He wasn't a hero.

The little girl patted his arm. "Don't cry, Mr. Turtle," she soothed. "You did the best you could. The fire people are coming now. They'll get my mommy out."

Leo could hear the sirens coming. He had to get out of there before he was spotted. "Okay, little one," he said. "I have to go now. Do you think you'll be okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine," she told him. "The fire people will help Mommy out now. Thanks for saving me, Mr. Turtle. You're a hero."

Leo shook his head. "No, I'm not," he whispered. "I couldn't save everyone."

"You saved me though," she pointed out. "And you saved other people, too. Don't be sad, Mr. Turtle."

"It's Leonardo," he told her. "But you can call me Leo for short. What's your name?"

"Carly," she answered. "Will you stay with me?"

"I can't," he replied. "I'm not supposed to be seen. Listen, Carly, I know you're glad I saved you, but you can't tell anyone about me, okay? You have to keep it a secret. Can you do that?"

Carly nodded. "I guess I can," she said. "Thanks for saving me, Leo."

"You're welcome, Carly." He rubbed his eyes to wipe the tears away. "Be safe."

"You, too," she said. "Bye."

"Goodbye, Carly," he whispered. Then he climbed one of the buildings and stayed there until the fire department arrived. As soon as he saw that Carly would be okay, he turned and headed back home. He was so overwhelmed with grief he ended up collapsing on one of the buildings and just sobbed. His family would be ashamed of him for failing to rescue the people. They would mock him for trying to act like someone he wasn't. He curled up in a ball and just lay there. He didn't want to go home at all.

"Leo!" he heard someone cry out. He didn't look up, but he could hear someone coming toward him. He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, but he ignored it.

"Leo, are you okay?" Raph asked him.

"I failed," Leo whispered. "I'm not a hero. I couldn't save her."

"You couldn't' save who?"

"Carly's mother," Leo answered. "I let her die up there."

Raph was confused about what Leo was talking about, but this wasn't the time to ask about it. "C'mon, Leo, let's go home," he said gently. He tried to help Leo up, but Leo wouldn't budge, so he scooped his brother up and carried him home. Leo kept muttering about not being a hero, which made Raph feel really bad for him. He could feel the tears that were coming out of his brother's eyes and kept rubbing his shell and whispering soothing words. As much as Raph wanted to gloat that he was right, this wasn't the time for that. Leo was in pain over this and needed to heal.

When they arrived at the Lair, Raph carried Leo into the infirmary where Don checked him over. Leo had some burns on his hands and on his shell where the debris had hit him. As he worked, he tried to get Leo to talk to him, but the blue-clad Turtle refused.

"Is Leo gonna be okay?" Mikey asked.

"He'll be fine, Mikey," Don reassured him. "He's just in shock right now. He'll snap out of it soon."

"What do you think happened to him?"

Don sighed. "I don't know, but I think Leo's upset about something," he answered.

"When we were coming home, he kept muttering about not being a hero," Raph told them.

"What does that mean?" Mikey inquired.

"I don't know, Mikey," Raph responded. "But I do know that he's hurting right now."

The answer came when they watched the news later that night.

"Our top story tonight, a fire broke out at an apartment building in the Bronx today," Carlos Chiang O'Brien Gambe reported. "For more on this story, we go live to Michelle Franklin. Michelle, what happened out there?"

"Carlos, it appears a fire broke out at around eight this evening," she replied. "Residents are unsure as to what caused it, but they are speculating it was either a gas leak or an unattended candle. As residents evacuated, they reported seeing a man dressed in a turtle costume trying to rescue some of the residents. One citizen reported that he saved quite a few people before the blaze intensified."

"And did this man stay for a long time?" Carlos asked her.

"No, one citizen reported that he shielded a small girl from falling debris and stayed with her for a short time before leaving the scene."

"Does anyone suspect that maybe this man in a turtle costume had anything to do with the blaze?"

"No, they reported that the blaze started before he came along to rescue the citizens inside the building. One little girl stated that he was a hero and that he rescued her. When I asked if she would give me his name, she stated that it was a secret and that she couldn't tell me who he was."

"So, you just think it was some guy trying to pretend to be a hero?" Carlos asked.

"I don't think he was pretending, Carlos," Michelle replied. "He really seemed to care about the people inside that building."

"Any word on if there were any casualties?"

"Unfortunately, not all of the citizens were able to be rescued due to the intensity of the blaze, but many of the citizens are thankful that the mysterious man came on the scene when he did. Back to you, Carlos."

"Thanks, Michelle, we'll check in with you later," Carlos said and returned to another story.

"So that's what's eating at Leo," Donatello mused. "He tried to rescue all those people but couldn't do it. I can't blame him for feeling so guilty about that."

"Yes, your brother is in tremendous pain over this loss," Splinter replied. "However, he was foolish for even trying to rescue all of those people. I only hope that his mission does not lead to our exposure."

"But, Sensei, it was a good thing he was there!" Mikey protested. "If he hadn't been, all of those people would have died."

"I understand that, Michelangelo, but it was still a great risk," Splinter replied. "But for now, we need to concentrate on helping your brother to heal from this tragedy."

After the news was over, the family went to bed. Raph carried his sleeping bag into the infirmary and set it up next to Leo's bed. No one objected to this as Raph settled down next to his brother. He knew how Leo was feeling at this moment, and he decided that in the morning he would tell Leo about it. He knew what it was like to not be able to rescue the one you wanted to.

During the night, Raph was awakened by Leo crying out in his sleep. His brother was thrashing around in the throes of a nightmare. Raph hurried to his side and began gently shaking him awake.

"Leo, wake up, bro," he soothed. "It's okay, you're safe now."

Leo awoke with a gasp and began sobbing. The red-clad Turtle put his arms around his brother and began rubbing his shell. Leo returned the embrace and held onto his brother for dear life. Raph kept rubbing his shell and soothing him until his sobs subsided.

"Leo, I know how you feel," he said. "It sucks not being able to save someone."

"You don't know how I feel, Raph,' Leo whispered. "You've never been there."

"I have been there, bro," Raph told him. And he began his own story, hoping that maybe Leo would get something out of it.

22222

Raphael was traveling the rooftops by himself. Splinter had allowed them to go out on their own as long as they were careful not to be seen. Raph loved being up on the surface. The noises of the city were music to his ears, and he loved getting out into the fresh air. As he leapt the rooftops, he suddenly heard a scream coming from one of the alleys. Splinter had often warned them not to be seen by humans, but he had accepted that it was unavoidable in some circumstances such as when they rescued April. Raph hurried toward the sound and saw a man holding a knife and threatening a woman.

"Give me all your money," he commanded.

"Please, don't hurt me," the woman begged.

Raph knew this wasn't right, and he was ready to show this man why he shouldn't mess with a lady. He leapt down into the alley, his sais drawn.

"Didn't anyone tell you it's not polite to threaten a lady?" he asked.

The man spun around at the sound of Raph's voice. "Who's there?" he demanded.

"Just a concerned citizen trying to keep the streets safe from punks like you," Raph replied. "Now, you have two choices. Either leave the lady alone and go back home, or you can continue to bully her and have to deal with me. What's it gonna be?'

"I think I'll get what I came for," the man replied as he advanced toward the lady.

"Wrong answer," Raph said as he stepped out of the shadows and spun his sais around.

The man's eyes widened. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded.

"Someone whose not gonna let a punk like you threaten ladies," Raph said. "Now, let her go, and this will all be over soon."

The man grabbed the woman and held his knife to her throat. "You stay away from me," he said. "Drop those pitchforks, or I'll kill her."

The woman's eyes were wide with fear. She gazed at Raphael. "Please, listen to him," she pleaded.

Raph didn't want to let his weapons go, but he knew if he kept them, the woman was as good as dead. He slowly dropped the sais ad held his hands up in surrender. "Okay, I did my part," he said. "Now, let her go."

The man grinned at him. "Man, are you a stupid freak," he sneered. And before Raph could even react, the man slit the woman's throat and threw her to the ground. Blood sprayed everywhere as the man grabbed the woman's purse and ran.

22222

"So, what did you do?" Leo asked his brother.

"I stayed with the woman until she died," Raph said. "I couldn't leave her there, and there was no way I could call for help. Then I went after the guy and took care of business."

"Did you kill him?"

"Yeah, I did," Raph replied. "But my point is that you can't always save everybody even if you try hard enough. I thought that guy was gonna drop his knife, but he tricked me and killed her anyway."

Tears filled Leo's eyes as he thought about what Raph had had to go through. "I'm sorry, Raph," he whispered. "You didn't deserve that."

"That's okay, Leo," Raph reassured him. "I did the best I could."

"Does it still hurt you that you couldn't save her?"

"Yeah, it still hurts sometimes," Raph admitted. "But I do my best to not let it get to me. I know you're hurting now, Leo, but it'll get better. I promise."

"How do you deal with it?"

"I tell myself that even though she died, the man paid for it with his own life," Raph replied. "I know you couldn't save that girl's mother, but at least you saved other people, and they're grateful for it. It was even on the news."

Leo eyes widened. "It was? Is Sensei mad at me?"

"I don't think he's mad, just concerned," Raph answered. "But I think you should talk to him tomorrow about this."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Leo agreed. "Thanks for talking to me, Raph. It really helps to know that I'm not alone with this."

"You're welcome," Raph answered. "If you need to talk, I'm here. Don't forget that, bro."

"I won't," Leo promised. He sighed and leaned against his brother. Raph put his arm around him, and the two stayed like that as they both fell asleep.

22222

The next morning, Leo got out of bed and went to his father's chambers. He had to set things right with Splinter.

"Enter," Splinter called.

Leo entered, bowed, and knelt on the mat in front of his father.

"Ah, Leonardo, how are you feeling this morning?" Splinter asked.

Instead of answering, Leo said, "Master Splinter, I'm sorry for being so foolish and taking such a stupid risk yesterday. I really hope that you'll forgive me, and I'll accept whatever punishment you deem is necessary."

Splinter put a paw on his son's shoulder. "Leonardo, while I am disappointed that you took such a risk, I admire your intentions," he said. "You were only doing what you felt was right, and I cannot fault you for that. I know how it feels to try and do the right thing and to not always be able to save the ones you love. Every day I think about how I could have saved Shen and Miwa from that fire, and the pain is still deep. But I am able to go on when I look at the four of you and what I have accomplished. You must do the same, Leonardo. Do not dwell on the failure and think about what you accomplished that day. You saved many lives, and I gather that many people are grateful for your involvement."

"Thank you, Master Splinter," Leo replied. "So, I'm not in trouble?"

Splinter chuckled. "Well, yes and no," he replied. "I will not punish you now because you are still healing from your injuries. But do not think that I will forget about this incident and not render a punishment when I feel it is necessary. Is that understood?"

"Hai, Sensei," Leo answered.

"Good," Splinter said. "You are dismissed."

Leo left his father's chambers feeling much better. Sure, he was still going to be punished, but he knew his father was right. He had to think about the good things instead of the bad. As he left, he saw Raph standing outside the door.

"You heard that?" he asked.

"Yeah, but don't worry, I'm sure he'll go easy on you," Raph reassured him. "I'll back you up if you want."

"No, that's fine, Raph," Leo told him. "I'll take my punishment with good grace."

Raph laughed. "It's your funeral," he said with a smile.

It took time for Leo to heal from the tragedy of not being able to save everyone, but he had his family to back him up. Raph was especially supportive and was always there to talk if Leo ever needed him. Whenever Leo had a nightmare, Raph was usually the one to snap him out of it and to calm him down afterwards. Raph even watched "Space Heroes" with him a few times and even refrained from making snide remarks about it. That made Leo feel good, and he realized that being a hero in real life wasn't like what happened on the show. It was full of ups and downs, but it was still rewarding. Leo never saw Carly again, and while he mourned the loss of her mother, he took comfort in the fact that she'd survived and would continue to live on. It was just like Raph's situation with the man, except instead of taking comfort in revenge, he took comfort in the reward of saving a life. He continued to save lives whenever he could, and each time he did, he was reminded of what being a hero really meant. It wasn't just about the action but about the gesture behind it.

The End

A/N: Wow. Sixteen pages! I never thought it would take this long to tell this story. I really hope you enjoyed this tale. Please feel free to leave a review, and have a shelltastic day.


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